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Jack A. Roth, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Professor, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Chief, Section of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment

Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX
Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery and Anesthesiology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, Houston, TX

Bio Statement

Dr. Jack A. Roth was born in LaPorte, Indiana. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and received his MD degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He was a surgical intern and resident at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He went on to the UCLA Center for the Health Sciences to complete his Postgraduate Research Fellowship, and completed residencies in General Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Roth is certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery. After completing his residency, Dr. Roth became head of the Thoracic Oncology Section of the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute. In 1986 Dr. Roth became Professor and Chairman of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He holds the Bud S. Johnson Clinical Chair and is a Professor of Tumor Biology. He is a member of 29 national and international professional associations including the Society of University Surgeons, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and the American Surgical Association. He also serves on 14 editorial boards of major clinical and scientific journals including the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the Journal of Molecular Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research, and Cancer Gene Therapy

Research Interests

Dr. Roth's research is extensively published with over 200 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and over 500 total publications. He also has edited four medical books, one of which, Thoracic Oncolgy, is in its second edition and is considered a standard textbook in the field.

Dr. Roth's research interests include studies of the molecular events in thoracic cancers, gene therapy for lung cancer, and the development of multimodality therapy for lung and esophageal cancer. He was the principal investigator for the first tumor suppressor gene and oncogene gene therapy studies approved by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and the FDA. He has received a Merit Award grant from the National institutes of Health and other awards and honors including the Lucy Wortham James Award of the Society of Surgical Oncology and the Cosbie Lectureship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Clinical Interests

gene therapy, lung cancer, esophageal cancer

Office Address

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
1515 Holcombe Boulevard
Unit Number: 445
Houston, TX 77030
Room Number: FC09.2048

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1971 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, MD, Medicine
1967 Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, BA, Economics

Postgraduate Training

1979-1980 Chief Resident, Division of General Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
1978-1979 Chief Resident, Division of Thoracic Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
1977-1978 Clinical Residency, Division of Thoracic Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
1975-1977 Clinical Residency, General Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
1973-1975 Research Fellowship, Division of Surgical Oncology, UCLA Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles, CA
1972-1973 Clinical Residency, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD
1971-1972 Clinical Internship, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Board Certifications

1983 American Board of Thoracic Surgery
1981 American Board of Surgery

Experience/Service

Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities

Director, W. M. Keck Center for Innovative Cancer Therapies, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 1998-present

Honors and Awards

2008 America's Top Surgeons
2008 Best Doctors
2008 Elkin Distinguished Investigators Cancer Lectureship, Emory University School of Medicine Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA
2008 Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
2007 Best Doctors
2007 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2007 O. T. Clagett Visiting Professorship, Mayo Clinic. Rochester, MN
2006 Recognized by peers as one of the top clinicians in the Houston area
2006 SPAR Award, Top 1% of cited authors for journals in Biology and Biochemistry
2006 The Surgery Chief Resident Teaching Award, The University of Texas - Houston Medical School, Department of Surgery
2006 USPTO Records - "Top Patenters" in the life sciences, above the 99th percentile of the patent count distribution
2005-2007 One of American’s Top Doctors for Cancer, Castle Connolly Media Ltd.
2004 Inaugural Glick Lecturer, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
2003 Best Doctors 10 Year Veteran
2003 Best Doctors
2002 Best Doctors
2002 The Surgery Chief Resident Teaching Award, The University of Texas - Houston Medical School, Department of Surgery
2001 Best Doctors
2000 Elaine & Gerald Schuster Distinguished Visiting Lecturer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
1998 Top 20 Texans, Texas Monthly Magazine
1997 Charles Moetel Lectureship, Mayo Clinic
1997 Gordon Hamilton-Fairley Lecture Award, British Association for Cancer Research and British Society for Surgical Oncology
1996 Inaugural Wittcoff Lecturer, Mayo Clinic
1996 Jack Sadler Memorial Lectureship, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
1995 Charles L. Roper Visiting Professor, Washington University School of Medicine
1995 Elected Corresponding Member, European Society of Thoracic Surgeons
1995 Victor and Sigried Gilbertson Visiting Lecturer, University of MN, School of Medicine
1994 E.J. Tabah Visiting Professor in Surgical Oncology, Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill
1994 Ernest Bruell Lectureship, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
1994 The Award of Excellence for a Special Lecture, The 32nd Annual Congress of Japan Society for Cancer Therapy
1993 W.B. Cosbie Lecture, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
1992 First Invited Scientific Plenary Lecturer, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
1992 Lucy Wortham James Basic Research Award, Society of Surgical Oncology
1991-1992 The Best Doctors in America
1991 Distinguished Lecturer, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
1990 One of 400 Best Doctors in America
1985 Merit Award, National Institutes of Health
1984-present Fellow, American College of Surgeons
1981 Special Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
1980 Mead Johnson Excellence of Research Award, National Research Forum
1977 Society of Surgical Oncology Resident/Fellow Award
1973 Resident-Fellow Clinical Research Award paper, James Ewing Society
1971 Outstanding Student Research Presentation, Johns Hopkins Medical Society
1967 B.A. Magna Cum Laude with distinction in all subjects, Cornell University
1967 Phi Beta Kappa, Cornell University

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Kassis ES, Vaporciyan AA, Swisher SG, Correa AM, Bekele N, Erasmus JJ, Hofstetter WL, Komaki R, Mehran RJ, Moran CA, Pisters KM, Rice DC, Walsh GL, Roth JA. Application of the revised lung cancer staging system (IASLC Staging Project) to a cancer center population. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 138(2):412-418.e1-2, 8/2009. e-Pub 5/28/2009. PMCID: PMC2731793.
2. Bolton W, Rice DC, Correa AM, Hofstetter W, Komaki R, Mehran R, Pisters K, Roth JA, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Swisher SG. Influence of Age on Choice of Therapy and Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Am Surg 75(7):598-603; discussion 603-4, 7/2009. PMID: 19655604.
3. Braiteh F, Correa AM, Hofstetter WL, Lee JH, Rice DC, Vaporciyan AA, Bhutani MS, Ross WA, Komaki R, Dekovich A, Walsh GL, Roth JA, Mehran RJ, Swisher SG, Ajani JA.. Association of Age and Survival in Patients with Gastroesophageal Cancer Undergoing Surgery With or Without Preoperative Therapy. Cancer, 6/26/2009. e-Pub 6/26/2009. PMID: 19562780.
4. Bolton WD, Rice DC, Goodyear A, Correa AM, Erasmus J, Hofstetter W, Komaki R, Mehran R, Pisters K, Roth JA, Swisher SG, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Weaver J, Rhines L. Superior sulcus tumors with vertebral body involvement: a multimodality approach. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 137(6):1379-87, 6/2009. PMID: 19464452.
5. Bolton W, Hofstetter W, Francis A, Correa AM, Ajani JA, Bhutani M, Erasmus J, Komaki R, Maru D, Mehran R, Rice DC, Roth JA, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Swisher SG. Impact of tumor length and submucosal involvement on the long-term survival of pT1 early stage esophageal adenocarcinoma. J Thor Cardio Surg. e-Pub 4/2009.
6. Pataer A, Swisher SG, Roth JA, Logothetis CJ, Corn P. Inhibition of RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) leads to cancer cell death and increases chemosensitivity. Cancer Biol Ther 8(3). e-Pub 3/2009. PMID: 19106640.
7. Tsao AS, Wistuba I, Roth JA, Kindler HL. Malignant pleural mesothelioma. J Clin Oncol. e-Pub 3/2009. PMID: 19255316.
8. Yendamuri S, Swisher SG, Correa AM, Hofstetter W, Ajani JA, Francis A, Maru D, Mehran RJ, Rice DC, Roth JA, Walsh GL, Vaporciyan AA. Esophageal tumor length is independently associated with long-term survival. Cancer 115(3):508-16, 2/2009. PMID: 19117343.
9. Chang JY, Balter PA, Dong L, Yang Q, Liao Z, Jeter M, Bucci MK, McAleer MF, Mehran RJ, Roth JA, Komaki R. Stereotactic body radiation therapy in centrally and superiorly located stage I or isolated recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 72(4):967-71, 11/2008. PMID: 18954709.
10. Ding L, Getz G, Wheeler DA, Mardis ER, McLellan MD, Cibulskis K, Sougnez C, Greulich H, Muzny DM, Morgan MB, Fulton L, Fulton RS, Zhang Q, Wendl MC, Lawrence MS, Larson DE, Chen K, Dooling DJ, Sabo A, Hawes AC, Shen H, Jhangiani SN, Lewis LR, Hall O, Zhu Y, Mathew T, Ren Y, Yao J, Scherer SE, Clerc K, Metcalf GA, Ng B, Milosavljevic A, Gonzalez-Garay ML, Osborne JR, Meyer R, Shi X, Tang Y, Koboldt DC, Lin L, Abbott R, Miner TL, Pohl C, Fewell G, Haipek C, Schmidt H, Dunford-Shore BH, Kraja A, Crosby SD, Sawyer CS, Vickery T, Sander S, Robinson J, Winckler W, Baldwin J, Chirieac LR, Dutt A, Fennell T, Hanna M, Johnson BE, Onofrio RC, Thomas RK, Tonon G, Weir BA, Zhao X, Ziaugra L, Zody MC, Giordano T, Orringer MB, Roth JA, Spitz MR, Wistuba II, Ozenberger B, Good PJ, Chang AC, Beer DG, Watson MA, Ladanyi M, Broderick S, Yoshizawa A, Travis WD, Pao W, Province MA, Weinstock GM, Varmus HE, Gabriel SB, Lander ES, Gibbs RA, Meyerson M, Wilson RK. Somatic mutations affect key pathways in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature 455(7216):1069-75, 10/2008. PMID: 18948947.
11. Yendamuri S, Vaporciyan AA, Zaidi T, Feng L, Fernandez R, Bekele NB, Hofstetter WL, Jiang F, Mehran RJ, Rice DC, Spitz MR, Swisher SG, Walsh GL, Roth JA, Katz RL. 3p22.1 and 10q22.3 deletions detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH): a potential new tool for early detection of non-small cell lung Cancer (NSCLC). J Thorac Oncol 3(9):979-84, 9/2008. PMID: 18758299.
12. Shivapurkar N, Stastny V, Okumura N, Girard L, Xie Y, Prinsen C, Thunnissen FB, Wistuba II, Czerniak B, Frenkel E, Roth JA, Liloglou T, Xinarianos G, Field JK, Minna JD, Gazdar AF. Cytoglobin, the newest member of the globin family, functions as a tumor suppressor gene. Cancer Res 68(18):7448-56, 9/2008. PMID: 18794132.
13. Ji L, Roth JA. Tumor suppressor FUS1 signaling pathway. J Thorac Oncol 3(4):327-30, 4/2008. PMID: 18379348.
14. Pataer A, Chada S, Roth JA, Hunt KK, Swisher SG. Development of Ad-mda7/IL-24-resistant lung cancer cell lines. Cancer Biol Ther 7(1):103-8, 1/2008. PMID: 18059175.
15. Deng WG, Wu G, Ueda K, Xu K, Roth JA, Ji L. Enhancement of antitumor activity of cisplatin in human lung cancer cells by tumor suppressor FUS1. Cancer Gene Ther 15(1):29-39, 1/2008. PMID: 17828283.
16. Prudkin L, Behrens C, Liu DD, Zhou X, Ozburn NC, Bekele BN, Minna JD, Moran C, Roth JA, Ji L, Wistuba II. Loss and reduction of Fus1 protein expression is a frequent phenomenon in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res 14(1):41-47, 1/2008. PMID: 18172250.
17. Deus HF, Stanislaus R, Veiga DF, Behrens C, Wistuba II, Minna JD, Garner HR, Swisher SG, Roth JA, Correa AM, Broom B, Coombes K, Chang A, Vogel LH, Almeida JS. A semantic web management model for integrative biomedical informatics. PLoS ONE 3(8):e2946, 2008. e-Pub 8/2008. PMCID: PMCPMC2491554.
18. Pataer A, Hu W, Xiaolin L, Chada S, Roth JA, Hunt KK, Swisher SG. Adenoviral ER-targeted mda-7/IL-24 vector enhances cell killing and overcomes MDA-7/IL-24 resistance. Mol Cancer Ther 7(8):2528-35, 2008. PMID: 18723497.
19. Katz RL, Zaidi TM, Fernandez RL, Zhang J, He W, Acosta C, Daniely M, Madi L, Vargas MA, Dong Q, Jiang XG, Caraway NP, Vaporciyan AA, Roth JA, Spitz MR. Automated detection of genetic abnormalities combined with cytology in sputum is a sensitive predictor of lung cancer. Mod Pathol 21:950-60, 2008. PMID: 18500269.
20. Weir BA, Woo MS, Getz G, Perner S, Ding L, Beroukhim R, Lin WM, Province MA, Kraja A, Johnson LA, Shah K, Sato M, Thomas RK, Barletta JA, Borecki IB, Broderick S, Chang AC, Chiang DY, Chirieac LR, Cho J, Fujii Y, Gazdar AF, Giordano T, Greulich H, Hanna M, Johnson BE, Kris MG, Lash A, Lin L, Lindeman N, Mardis ER, McPherson JD, Minna JD, Morgan MB, Nadel M, Orringer MB, Osborne JR, Ozenberger B, Ramos AH, Robinson J, Roth JA, Rusch V, Sasaki H, Shepherd F, Sougnez C, Spitz MR, Tsao MS, Twomey D, Verhaak RG, Weinstock GM, Wheeler DA, Winckler W, Yoshizawa A, Yu S, Zakowski MF, Zhang Q, Beer DG, Wistuba II, Watson MA, Garraway LA, Ladanyi M, Travis WD, Pao W, Rubin MA, Gabriel SB, Gibbs RA, Varmus HE, Wilson RK, Lander ES, Meyerson M. Characterizing the cancer genome in lung adenocarcinoma. Nature 450(7171). e-Pub 11/2007. PMCID: PMC2538683.
21. Yendamuri S, Komaki RR, Correa AM, Allen P, Wynn B, Blackmon S, Hofstetter WL, Rice DC, Roth JA, Swisher SG, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Mehran RJ. Comparison of limited surgery and three-dimensional conformal radiation in high-risk patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2(11):1022-8, 11/2007. PMID: 17975494.
22. Jayachandran G, Sazaki J, Nishizaki M, Xu K, Girard L, Minna JD, Roth JA, Ji L. Fragile Histidine Triad-mediated tumor suppression of lung cancer by targeting multiple components of the Ras/Rho GTPase molecular switch. Cancer Res 67(21):10379-88, 11/2007. PMID: 17974981.
23. Rice DC, Stevens CW, Correa AM, Vaporciyan AA, Tsao A, Forster KM, Walsh GL, Swisher SG, Hofstetter WL, Mehran RJ, Roth JA, Liao Z, Smythe WR. Outcomes after extrapleural pneumonectomy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Ann Thorac Surg 84(5):1685-92; discussion 1692-3, 11/2007. PMID: 17954086.
24. Hittelman WN, Liu DD, Kurie JM, Lotan R, Lee JS, Khuri F, Ibarguen H, Morice RC, Walsh G, Roth JA, Minna J, Ro JY, Broxson A, Hong WK, Lee JJ. Proliferative changes in the bronchial epithelium of former smokers treated with retinoids. J Natl Cancer Inst 99(21):1603-12, 11/2007. PMID: 17971525.
25. Lin J, Sun T, Ji L, Deng W, Roth J, Minna J, Arlinghaus R. Oncogenic activation of c-Abl in non-small cell lung cancer cells lacking FUS1 expression: inhibition of c-Abl by the tumor suppressor gene product Fus1. Oncogene 26(49):6989-96, 10/2007. e-Pub 5/2007. PMID: 17486070.
26. von Holzen U, Pataer A, Raju U, Bocangel D, Vorburger SA, Liu Y, Lu X, Roth JA, Aggarwal BB, Barber GN, Keyomarsi K, Hunt KK, Swisher SG. The double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase mediates radiation resistance in mouse embryo fibroblasts through nuclear factor kappaB and Akt activation. Clin Cancer Res 13(20):6032-9, 10/2007. PMID: 17947465.
27. Martin LW, Correa AM, Ordonez NG, Roth JA, Swisher SG, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Rice DC. Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung: a predictor of poor prognosis. Ann Thorac Surg 84(3):973-80, 9/2007. PMID: 17720411.
28. Deng WG, Jayachandran G, Wu G, Xu K, Roth JA, Ji L. Tumor-specific activation of human telomerase reverses transcriptase promoter activity by activating enhancer-binding protein-2beta in human lung cancer cells. J Biol Chem 282(36):26460-70, 9/2007. PMID: 17630431.
29. Bakaeen F, Rice D, Correa AM, Walsh GL, Vaporciyan AA, Putnam JB, Swisher SG, Roth JA, Huh J, Chu D, Smythe WR. Use of aprotinin in extrapleural pneumonectomy: effect on hemostasis and incidence of complications. Ann Thorac Surg 84(3):982-6, 9/2007. PMID: 17720413.
30. Kelsen DP, Winter KA, Gunderson LL, Mortimer J, Estes NC, Haller DG, Ajani JA, Kocha W, Minsky BD, Roth JA, Willett CG, Willett CG, Willett CG. Long-term results of RTOG trial 8911 (USA Intergroup 113): a random assignment trial comparison of chemotherapy followed by surgery compared with surgery alone for esophageal cancer. J Clin Oncol 25(24):3719-25, 8/2007. PMID: 17704421.
31. Hofstetter W, Correa AM, Bekele N, Ajani JA, Phan A, Komaki RR, Liao Z, Maru D, Wu TT, Mehran RJ, Rice DC, Roth JA, Vaporciyan AA, Walsh GL, Francis A, Blackmon S, Swisher SG. Proposed modification of nodal status in AJCC esophageal cancer staging system. Ann Thorac Surg 84(2):365-73; discussion 374-5, 8/2007. PMID: 17643602.
32. Ohtani S, Iwamaru A, Deng W, Ueda K, Wu G, Jayachandran G, Kondo S, Atkinson EN, Minna JD, Roth JA, Ji L. Tumor suppressor 101F6 and ascorbate synergistically and selectively inhibit non-small cell lung cancer growth by caspase-independent apoptosis and autophagy. Cancer Res 67(13):6293-303, 7/2007. PMID: 17616688.
33. Blackmon SH, Correa AM, Wynn B, Hofstetter WL, Martin LW, Mehran RJ, Rice DC, Swisher SG, Walsh GL, Roth JA, Vaporciyan AA. Propensity-matched analysis of three techniques for intrathoracic esophagogastric anastomosis. Ann Thorac Surg 83(5):1805-13; discussion 1813, 5/2007. PMID: 17462404.
34. Pataer A, Bocangel D, Chada S, Roth JA, Hunt KK, Swisher SG. Enhancement of adenoviral MDA-7-mediated cell killing in human lung cancer cells by geldanamycin and its 17-allyl- amino-17-demethoxy analogue. Cancer Gene Ther 14(1):12-18, 1/2007. PMID: 17024233.
35. Deng WG, Kawashima H, Wu G, Jayachandran G, Xu K, Minna JD, Roth JA, Ji L. Synergistic tumor suppression by coexpression of FUS1 and p53 is associated with down-regulation of murine double minute-2 and activation of the apoptotic protease-activating factor 1-dependent apoptotic pathway in human non-small cell lung cancer cells. Cancer Res 67(2):709-17, 1/2007. PMID: 17234782.
36. Deng WG, Nishizaki M, Fang B, Roth JA, Ji L. Induction of apoptosis by tumor suppressor FHIT via death receptor signaling pathway in human lung cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 355(4):993-99, 2007. PMID: 17328863.

Last updated: 9/10/2009